We are kicking off this edition of Machine Vision Insider with a great thought leadership technical piece from Michael John Fanous, Ph.D., of FanousPhotonics. His company is developing SCANIMUS as a research-use-only product informed by this broader computational-imaging direction. He notes the broader lesson for machine vision engineers is not that neural networks can counterbalance every optical or mechanical flaw; it is that a precise amount of imperfection can sometimes be admitted during acquisition when the full pipeline is designed, measured, and bounded around it. 

In another contributed thought leadership article, this one by Kaihan Krippendorff of Outthinker Strategy Network, we learn his take that effective machine vision systems should be designed around the specific decision they support, not just defect detection.

There are also several events coming up that you won't want to miss. If automating agriculture is in your wheelhouse, the inaugural Great Lakes Tek Flex might be worth checking out. Hurry, though; it takes place next week on Sept. 10-11 in Benton Harbor, Mich.

And don't miss this week's Visions podcast, where I had the privilege to talk with Executive VP Alex Shikany from A3 about the association's robotics report findings.

Drop a line at [email protected] to let us know what you think of this week's thought leadership articles. As always, I can be reached directly at [email protected].

If you live where Labor Day is celebrated, enjoy your long weekend. Until next time, stay curious.

Sharon Spielman, head of content
Vision Systems Design